Door.



no. 7|2,449. Patented om. 28, 1902.'

.1. L. Youn. DUUR.

(Appumionfnled Nm?. 15. 1901.)

(rio Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JosIAi-I L. Yonne, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

oooR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 712,449, dated October 28, 1902.

Application flied November 15,1901.l Serial No. 82,409. (No model.)

To o/,ZZ whom Yt may concern:

Be it known that I, J osIAH L.YoUNG,a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Manhattan, city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Doors, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of a door containing myinven tion. Fig. 2 is a central vertical cross-section of the door and its improvements, as shown in Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a central horizontal transverse section.

My invention has relation to doors, and more particularly to those located in the interiors of dwellings. Such doors are usually constructed of lumber and consist of an eXterior marginal frame supporting the ribs and panels. The thickness of such doors is usually much'les's than that of the wall and casing within which they are hinged or hung. Such doors possess no other function` than that of closing the doorways from, toward, and into which they are swung when closing or opening. The result is that that portion of the interior cubic `space of modern dwellings which is contained between the jambs and frame of the doorways and also some of the adjoining spaces on either side of the sill are practically unavailable for any other use except that of the door, and so much of the cubical contents of every room is conse` quently unavailable forfurniture or storage.

The object of my invention is to obviate this waste of space and to impart to doors such peculiarities of construction as will enable them to perform not only the previous functions as above described, but also novel and useful ones as parts of the furniture of the room. I accomplish these results, broadly speaking, by combining with the marginal external frame of the door B an inelosed recess centrally supported vby such frame. The door is thus converted into a swinging receptacle or closet adapted for various uses, as hereinafter pointed out, which closet, however, does not encroach upon any part of the wall-space nor of the cubical contents which were before available for the reception or support of furnishings. My centrally-supported door-recess may be constructed in any convenient manner. It will project from the appearance of the door.

main frame of the door B both inwardly and outwardly, as by this means my improved door will be balanced and even strain and leverage brought upon its hinges. Moreover, by thus centrally supporting this inclosed recess its actual depth will be masked and a recess having a depth of eight inches, more or less, will have thus exteriorly the appearance of a depth of only four inches so long as the door is kept closed. Lateral Walls or inclosing sides F F, Fig. l, are provided and rigidlyl secured to the main door-frame B. The casing thus constituted should project about equally from the main frame on each side of the door. The casing F F may be permanently inclosed on one side of the door by a wall or casing g, Figs. 3 and l, and on the other side by a hinged and swinging door C. Both the casing or backing g and the door C will be preferably paneled, so as to preserve as far as possible theconventional and usual By this means the door, while continuing to perform its usual functions, is transformed intoa closet or other container, and this without encroaching upon otherwise available room-space.

It will be manifest that my improved door thus provided with a recessed wardrobe or container may be also applied to a variety of other uses.

In the drawings, A A represent the frames and casings of the doorway. The position of the frame relative to these casings may be varied according to requirements. It is preferable to hinge the door centrally within the doorway, so that the contained recess may be contained as far as possible within the width ofthe doorwaycasings,fas by this means any tendency toward an appearance of undue projection is obviated. that the door-frame must be strongly and securely hinged and that to insure the requisite rigidity in the door it is preferable that the recess should be closed at one end by a substantial and permanent casing. The' weight of the recess being substantially equally balanced on boTli sides of the frame which supports it centrally, but little, if any, injurious leverage will be exerted upon the hinges by reason of my improved door taken as a whole.

In cases where my improved doors are utila It will be understood IOO ized as closets they will be found of great convenience for the reception and storage of various articles, or they may be used as wardrobes or general storage-receptacles. It will be observed that the extent of the projection of the inclosed recess or compartment from the normal position of the door and the location of the hinges of myimproved door should be regulated accordlng to circumstances and in such a Way as not to interfere with the swinging of the door as freely as may be desired. The depth of the doorway, the shape and location of the walls of the room, dac., will all prove factors to be considered and dealt with separately in each case.

It will be observed that by reason of the casing F F being disposed rectangularly relatively to the main frame of the door B and projecting therefrom on both sides thereof not onlyis the frame and the door itself thereby greatly strengthened, a frame of T-shaped cross-section or channeled form being thus provided, but also by reason of the double thickness of material in the door itself due to the wall or casing g and the swinging door C the door becomes practically a double one, and hence more impervious to cold and noises and also more difficult to break through than previous constructions.

I am aware that compartments or closets of small size relatively to the door itself have hitherto been combined with doors, so as to project from one side thereof, and that toilet` cases, blacking-cases, and the like have been hinged thereto and adapted to be swung outwardly for use from that side, and I do not, therefore, wish to be understood as claiming, broadly, the combination of a case compartment or recess with a door.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is the following, viz:

l. A door comprising four members in combination, to wit: first, an external circumferential frame in one plane; second, disposed in planes transverse to such plane, an inner frame or casing contacting with the inner edges of said first member, centrally supported thereby, and projecting therefrom on both sides thereof; third, in a plane parallel with that of said first member, an inclosing casing contacting with the edges of said second member on one side thereof and supported thereby; fourth, a door closing the opening 'between the edges of said second member on the other side thereof and likewise supported thereby, and when closed disposed in a plane parallel with those of said first and third members, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. A door comprising a main external circumferential frame B in one plane, a casing F F disposed in planes transverse to that of B, a casing g in a plane parallel to that of B, and a door C, substantially as and for the purposes described.

- JOSIAH L. YOUNG. Witnesses:

PHILIP C. PECK, GEO. G. MEASURES. 

